Belva Ann Lockwood
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, educator, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She was active in working for women's rights, although the term feminist was not in use. The press of her day referred to her as a "suffragist," someone who believed in women's suffrage
Suffrage
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...
or voting rights. Lockwood overcame many social and personal obstacles related to gender restrictions. After college, she became a teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
and principal, working to equalize pay for women in education. She supported the movement for world peace, and was a proponent of temperance.
Lockwood graduated from law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
in Washington, D.C. and became one of the first female lawyers in the United States. In 1879, she successfully petitioned Congress to be allowed to practice before the United States Supreme Court, becoming the first woman attorney given this privilege. Lockwood ran for president in 1884 and 1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party
National Equal Rights Party
The National Equal Rights Party was a United States minor party in the late 19th century that supported women's rights. The presidential candidates from this party were Victoria Woodhull in 1872 and Belva Ann Lockwood in 1884 and 1888. They are generally considered to be the first women to run for...
and was the first woman to appear on official ballots.
Early life, marriage and education
She was born Belva Ann Bennett in Royalton, New YorkRoyalton, New York
Royalton is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 7,660 at the 2010 census.The Town of Royalton is in the southeast corner of the county and is east of the City of Niagara Falls.- History :...
, daughter of Lewis Johnson Bennett, a farmer, and his wife Hannah Green Bennett. Though the log cabin she grew up in is gone, her aunt's house where she spent some of her childhood still stands at 5070 Griswold Street. In front of this house is a memorial to her with a plaque that gives a brief biography of her life. By 14, she was already teaching at the local elementary school. In 1848, when she was 18, she married Uriah McNall, a local farmer.
McNall died of consumption (tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
) in 1853, three years after their daughter Lura was born. Left with no money, Lockwood quickly realized she needed a better education to support herself and her daughter. She attended Genesee Wesleyan Seminary
Genesee Wesleyan Seminary
The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was the name of two institutions located on the same site in Lima, New York.The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was founded in 1831 by the Genesee Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The plan for its establishment dates to 1829 when the Conference...
to prepare for study at college. Her plan, as she explained to Lippincott's Monthly Magazine, was not well-received by many of her friends and colleagues; most women did not seek higher education, and it was especially unusual for a widow to do so. Nonetheless, she was determined and persuaded the administration at Genesee College in Lima, New York
Lima, New York
Lima, New York refers to two locations south of the City of Rochester, New York in Livingston County, New York:*Lima , New York*Lima , New YorkNote that the names of both places are pronounced like the bean, not like the capital of Peru....
to admit her.
Early career in education
Lockwood graduated with honors in 1857 and soon became the headmistress of Lockport Union School. It was a responsible position, but Lockwood found that whether she was teaching or working as an administrator, she was paid half of what her male counterparts were making. (Later Lockwood worked for pay equity for women during her legal career.) It was during her studies at Genesee CollegeGenesee College
Genesee College was a college founded in 1832 as the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was located in Lima, NY and eventually relocated to Syracuse, NY, becoming Syracuse University.-Genesee Wesleyan Seminary:...
that she first became attracted to the law, although the school had no law department. Since a local law professor was offering private classes, she became one of his students. It made her want to learn more.
For the next few years, Lockwood continued to teach and also work as the principal at several local schools for young women. She stayed at Lockport until 1861, then became principal of the Gainesville Female Seminary; soon after, she was selected to head a girls' seminary in Owego, New York
Owego (village), New York
Owego is a village in and the county seat of Tioga County, New York, USA. The population was 3,911 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Area...
where she stayed for three years. Her educational philosophy was gradually changing after she met women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan Brownell Anthony was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was co-founder of the first Women's Temperance Movement with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as President...
.
Lockwood agreed with many of Anthony's ideas about society's restrictions on women. Anthony was concerned about the limited education girls received. Courses at most girls' schools chiefly prepared female students for domestic life and possibly for temporary work as teachers. Anthony spoke about how young women ought to be given more options, including preparation for careers in the business world, where the pay was better. Lockwood was encouraged to make changes at her schools. She expanded the curriculum and added courses typical of those which young men took, such as public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
, botany
Botany
Botany, plant science, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Traditionally, botany also included the study of fungi, algae and viruses...
, and gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
. Lockwood gradually determined to study law rather than continue teaching and to leave upstate New York.
Washington, D.C., remarriage and the law
In February 1866, Belva and her daughter Lura moved to Washington D.C., as Belva believed it was the center of power in the United States and would provide good opportunities to advance in the legal profession. She opened a coeducational private school while exploring the study of law. In the mid-1860s, coeducationCoeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
was unusual; most schools were separated by gender.
In 1868, Belva remarried, this time to a man much older than she. Rev. Ezekiel Lockwood was an American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
veteran, Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister, and practicing dentist
Dentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
. They had a daughter Jessie, who died before her second birthday. They also raised Belva's daughter Lura from her first marriage. Rev. Lockwood had progressive ideas about women's roles in society. He supported his wife's desire to study and encouraged her to pursue subjects that interested her.
As Belva Lockwood later told a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, about 1870 she applied to the Columbian Law School in the District of Columbia. The trustees refused to admit her as they believed she would be a distraction to male students. Lockwood finally was admitted to the new National University Law School (now the George Washington University Law School) along with several other women. Although she completed her coursework in May 1873, the law school was unwilling to grant a diploma to a woman.
Without a diploma, Lockwood could not gain admittance to the DC bar. After a year she wrote a letter to the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, appealing to him as president ex officio of the National University Law School. She asked him for justice, stating she had passed all her courses and deserved to be awarded a diploma. In September 1873, within a week of having sent the letter, Lockwood received her diploma. She was 43 years old.
Lockwood was admitted to the DC bar, although several judges told her they had no confidence in her. This was a reaction she repeatedly had to overcome. When she tried to gain admission to the bar in Maryland, a judge lectured her and told her that God Himself had determined that women were not equal to men and never could be. When she tried to respond on her own behalf, he said she had no right to speak and had her removed from the courtroom.
In her struggle, Lockwood was going against both social practice and the limited legal standing of women. In 1873, married women did not have many legal rights. By English Common Law
Common law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, Lockwood was considered a "feme covert"
Coverture
Coverture was a legal doctrine whereby, upon marriage, a woman's legal rights were subsumed by those of her husband. Coverture was enshrined in the common law of England and the United States throughout most of the 19th century...
(English version of medieval Anglo-Norman legal term), that is, a married woman. Her status under the law was different from that of a woman who was single, as she was regarded as strictly subordinate to her husband. In many states, a married woman could not individually own or inherit property, nor did she have the right to make contracts or keep money earned unless her husband permitted it. Although Lockwood's husband encouraged her, judges used her married status to deny her access to the courts, including the bar of the US Supreme Court.
Nonetheless, Lockwood began to build a practice and won some cases. Even her detractors regarded her as competent. She became known as an advocate for women's issues; she spoke on behalf of an 1872 bill for equal pay for federal government employees. She was active in several women's suffrage organizations. She testified before Congress in support of legislation to give married women and widows more protection under the law.
Because her practice was limited in the 1870s due to social discrimination, Lockwood drafted an anti-discrimination bill to have the same access to the bar as male colleagues. From 1874 to 1879, she lobbied Congress to pass it. In 1879, Congress finally passed the law, which was signed by President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
. It allowed all qualified women attorneys to practice in any federal court. Lockwood was sworn in as the first woman member of the U.S. Supreme Court bar on March 3, 1879. Late in 1880, she became the first woman lawyer to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ezekiel Lockwood did not live to see his wife's success, as he died in late April 1877.
In July 1879 Lockwood's daughter Lura McNall married DeForest Orme, a pharmacist.
Political career
Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Claflin Woodhull was an American leader of the woman's suffrage movement, an advocate of free love; together with her sister, the first women to operate a brokerage in Wall Street; the first women to start a weekly newspaper; an activist for women's rights and labor reforms and, in 1872,...
) to run for President of the United States. Lockwood ran as the candidate of the National Equal Rights Party
National Equal Rights Party
The National Equal Rights Party was a United States minor party in the late 19th century that supported women's rights. The presidential candidates from this party were Victoria Woodhull in 1872 and Belva Ann Lockwood in 1884 and 1888. They are generally considered to be the first women to run for...
. She ran in the presidential elections of 1884
United States presidential election, 1884
The United States presidential election of 1884 saw the first election of a Democrat as President of the United States since the election of 1856. New York Governor Grover Cleveland narrowly defeated Republican former United States Senator James G. Blaine of Maine to break the longest losing streak...
and 1888
United States presidential election, 1888
The 1888 election for President of the United States saw Grover Cleveland of New York, the incumbent president and a Democrat, try to secure a second term against the Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison, a former U.S. Senator from Indiana...
. Her running mate was Marietta Stow
Marietta Stow
Marietta L. B. Stow was an American suffragist. She ran for Governor of California as the candidate of the Women's Independent Political Party. She and Clara S...
in 1884. In 1888 she originally ran with Alfred H. Love
Alfred H. Love
Alfred Henry Love of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was an American political activist. He founded the Universal Peace Union in Providence, Rhode Island in 1866 and served as its president until his death. In the 1888 U.S. presidential election, he was the Vice Presidential nominee of the National...
, except when he was nominated he wasn't informed of it. When he found out, as the president of the Universal Peace Union and a lifelong world peace activist, he was horrified to run as vice president to the commander in chief, and dropped out of the race. Lockwood was in a scramble with no vice president, so she chose Charles Stuart Wells in the end.
Representing a third party without a broad base of support, Lockwood did not have a serious chance of winning the presidency. Notable American Women stated she received about 4,100 votes. Since women could not vote, and most newspapers were opposed to her candidacy, it was unusual that she received any votes. In an 1884 article, the Atlanta Constitution referred to her as "old lady Lockwood" and warned male readers of the dangers of "petticoat rule".
On January 12, 1885, Lockwood petitioned the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to have her votes counted. She told newspapers and magazines that she had evidence of voter fraud. She asserted that supporters had seen their ballots ripped up and that she had "received one-half the electoral vote of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and a large vote in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, but the votes in the latter state were not counted, simply dumped into the waste basket as false votes."
Later years
Lockwood was a well-respected writer, who frequently wrote essays about women's suffrageWomen's suffrage
Women's suffrage or woman suffrage is the right of women to vote and to run for office. The expression is also used for the economic and political reform movement aimed at extending these rights to women and without any restrictions or qualifications such as property ownership, payment of tax, or...
and the need for legal equality for women. Among the publications in which she appeared in the 1880s and 1890s were Cosmopolitan (then a journal of current issues), the American Magazine of Civics, Harper's Weekly, and Lippincott's. In addition to being active in the National American Woman Suffrage Association
National American Woman Suffrage Association
The National American Woman Suffrage Association was an American women's rights organization formed in May 1890 as a unification of the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association...
and the Equal Rights Party, Lockwood participated in the National Women's Press Association. The organization for women journalists also advocated for equal rights for women.
Lockwood believed strongly in working for world peace. She co-edited a journal called The Peacemaker, and she belonged to the Universal Peace Union; she was one of its representatives at an exposition held in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1889. She was also a delegate to an International Peace Congress
International Peace Congress
International Peace Congress, or International Congress of the Friends of Peace, was the name of a series of international meetings of representatives from peace societies from throughout the world held in various places in Europe from 1843 to 1853...
in London in 1890. She continued to speak on behalf of peace and disarmament to the year of her death. She was likely disappointed as the United States prepared to enter the war in Europe.
Belva Lockwood had a 43-year career as a lawyer. She died on 19 May 1917 and was buried in Congressional Cemetery
Congressional Cemetery
The Congressional Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of thousands of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 19th century. Many members of...
in Washington, D.C.
Honors
The communities of Belva, West Virginia
Belva, West Virginia
Belva is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in west Nicholas County and north Fayette County, West Virginia, United States; while the CDP only includes the Nicholas County portion, the Fayette County portion is considered part of the community...
; Lockwood, California
Lockwood, California
Lockwood is a census-designated place in Monterey County, California. It is located east-southeast of Jolon, 1.8 miles north of the mouth of Tule Canyon, 3 miles north of San Antonio River, and 9.3 miles north of Bryson, at an elevation of 971 feet .Lockwood is in southern Monterey County and...
; Lockwood, West Virginia
Lockwood, West Virginia
Lockwood is an unincorporated community in western Nicholas County, West Virginia, United States. The town is situated along Otter Creek and West Virginia Route 39....
; and the hamlet of Lockwood, New York
Barton, New York
Barton is a town in southwestern Tioga County, New York, USA. The population was 9,066 at the 2000 census. It is southeast of Elmira.- History :The Sullivan Expedition of 1779 passed through this region. The first settlers arrived around 1791....
were named in her honor. As Lockwood gained renown, mothers named their daughters after her.
At least three figureheads were carved in her likeness: for the ships Martha, Julia Lawrence, and an unnamed ship that has a full-length masthead. One of the figureheads is displayed in the museum at Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport
Mystic Seaport, the Museum of America and the Sea, in Mystic, Connecticut, is notable both for its collection of sailing ships and boats, and for the re-creation of crafts and fabric of an entire 19th century seafaring village...
in Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic, Connecticut
Mystic is a village and census-designated place in New London County, Connecticut, in the United States. The population was 4,001 at the 2000 census. A historic locality, Mystic has no independent government because it is not a legally recognized municipality in the state of Connecticut...
. "With raised chin she gazes straight ahead as if her attention were fixed on the distant horizon."
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a merchant marine ship, the Liberty Ship USS Belva Lockwood, was named after her.
The National Portrait Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
in Washington, D.C., has a portrait of Lockwood depicted in 1908, when she received an honorary doctorate in law from Syracuse University.
In 1983 Lockwood was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame
The National Women's Hall of Fame is an American institution. It was created in 1969 by a group of people in Seneca Falls, New York, the location of the 1848 Women's Rights Convention...
in Seneca Falls, New York
Seneca Falls (village), New York
Seneca Falls is a village in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 6,861 at the 2000 census. The village is in the Town of Seneca Falls, east of Geneva, New York. On March 16, 2010, village residents voted to dissolve the village, a move that would take effect at the end of 2011...
. The statement about her noted:
"Using her knowledge of the law, she worked to secure woman suffrage, property law reforms, equal pay for equal work, and world peace. Thriving on publicity and partisanship, and encouraging other women to pursue legal careers, Lockwood helped to open the legal profession to women."
In 1986, she was honored by the United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
with a 17¢ Great Americans series
Great Americans series
The Great Americans series is a set of definitive stamps issued by the United States Postal Service, starting on December 27, 1980 with the 19¢ stamp depicting Sequoyah, and continuing through 2002, the final stamp being the 78¢ Alice Paul self-adhesive stamp. The series, noted for its simplicity...
postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
.
Other references
- Cook, Frances A. "Belva Ann Lockwood: for Peace, Justice, and President" (1997) Women's Legal History Biography Project, Robert Crown Law Library, Stanford Law School.
- Kerr, Laura. The Girl Who Ran for President. Thomas Nelson, 1947.
- Norgren, Jill. "Belva Lockwood, Blazing the Trail for Women in Law". Prologue Magazine. Spring 2005, Vol. 37, No. 1.
- Norgren, Jill. "Belva Lockwood, Blazing the Trail for Women in Law, Part 2". Prologue Magazine. Spring 2005, Vol. 37, No. 1.
- Norgren, Jill. Belva Lockwood: The Woman Who Would Be President. New York: New York University Press, 2007.
External links
- Belva Ann Lockwood Collection, 1830-1917, New York State Library and Archives
- Belva Ann Lockwood Papers 1878-1917, 1984, 1986, 1992, Swarthmore CollegeSwarthmore CollegeSwarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....
- Belva Lockwood alumnae records and other material http://archives.syr.edu/archives/collections/alumni/lockwood_bio.html, Syracuse UniversitySyracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
Archives - Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood: Counsellor-At-Law and Advocate. Jeriah Bonham, editor. Fifty Years' Recollections with Observations and Reflections on Historical Events giving sketches of Eminent Citizens—Their Lives and Public Service. Peoria, Illinois, J.W. Franks & Sons, 1883. Pages 248–261.
- Current photos of the remains of her home outside of Royalton, NY